“Satisfaction of the soul can only be obtained by questions and answers on the subject of Krishna.” – Srila Prabhupada (Shrimad Bhagavatam Purport, 1.2.5)

3. Question Answer writing

This is a thirty-day experiment that would reveal to you your evolution – you wouldn’t need others to certify that you are growing emotionally and spiritually. You would see it for yourself if you follow these three steps.

First step – get the questions right

One day in the quietness of your room or a garden, write down thirty questions that you’d like answers for. Keep these questions in a book or word file and visit them later.

Sample questions:

What does my relationship with my spouse mean to me?

Why do I get irritated by …………… and hanker to be with …………; what drives my attractions and aversions in life?

How can I add more meaning and joy in the lives of people I love?

What are the three most important values of my life?

Like this add up thirty to fifty questions.

Second step – Start ‘Free writing’

Day one – pick up question 1 from your notebook and set an alarm for ten to twenty minutes. Till the alarm goes off don’t stop the pen. Keep writing and stop only when you are satisfied or when the alarm rings, whichever is later.

Once you have finished the answer you could read it if you like and then forget about it. Carry on with your other duties and activities.

Day two – pick up question 2 and follow the same procedure for writing.

Thirty days later you’d have answered all the questions.

This ends round one.

Wait for the next morning to continue the exercise as if nothing has happened all these days.

Third step – Enter the second phase

The next day – 31st in the exercise- go back to question 1 and write the answer, following the same protocol.

Now comes the discovery.

After you’ve finished writing – when the alarm goes off- read the answer quietly, and compare it with the answer to the same question you wrote a month ago. You’d be stunned by the discovery. You would see for yourself you have evolved.

Some answers would remain the same, and yet others would reveal to you that your understanding has matured. You see the situation differently. And this change is veritable –in thirty days your vision has changed. Congratulations! You are growing – the churning of your heart is a reality and you can now see it for yourself. And its reflective writing in general and free writing in particular that has brought this evolution.

“Journal writing gives us insights into who we are, who we were, and who we can become.” – Sandra Marinella

The quote mentioned above is beautifully elaborated by Srila Prabhupada in Shrimad Bhagavatam (1.2.5)

“The whole world is full of questions and answers. The birds, beasts and men are all busy in the matter of perpetual questions and answers. In the morning the birds in the nest become busy with questions and answers, and in the evening also the same birds come back and again become busy with questions and answers. The human being, unless he is fast asleep at night, is busy with questions and answers. The businessmen in the market are busy with questions and answers, and so also the lawyers in the court and the students in the schools and colleges. The legislators in the parliament are also busy with questions and answers, and the politicians and the press representatives are all busy with questions and answers. Although they go on making such questions and answers for their whole lives, they are not at all satisfied. Satisfaction of the soul can only be obtained by questions and answers on the subject of Krishna.”

To be continued…

Source: https://yogaformodernage.com/practical-benefits-and-techniques-of-journaling-part-5/